Pirate Bay Founder Gets Access to His Books After Public Outcry

The more than 100,000 signatures on a petition to improve the prison circumstances of Pirate Bay founder Gottfrid Svartholm appear to have had effect. Among other things, the Danish authorities are now allowing him to access the books he brought from Sweden. Previously, the police feared that these books could contain secret messages. In addition, Svartholm is now allowed to interact with other inmates, order books from the library, and have a Playstation 2 in his cell too.

Following a failed appeal to the Supreme Court in Sweden, Gottfrid Svartholm was extradited to Denmark last November, where he stands accused of hacking into the mainframe computers of IT company CSC.

On his arrival the Pirate Bay founder was put in solitary confinement, as the authorities feared that he would try to exchange sensitive information with the outside world.

These restrictions also meant that he couldn’t access the books he brought from Sweden, for an advanced mathematics course he started.

As time passed by the restrictions were somewhat loosened. Gottfrid’s solitary confinement and the restriction against meeting with other inmates were canceled earlier this month but access to his books and other reading material was still off-limits.

TorrentFreak talked to Gottfrid’s mother Kristina on Saturday, who explained that she can’t even send him a copy of The Economist, as the responsible police officer fears that it may contain secret messages.

“One of the magazines that Gottfrid subscribes to is ‘The Economist’. I get his copy at my home address every week, wrapped in plastic, directly from the publishers. According to the police officer in charge, this magazine could contain ‘secret messages’ and he therefore has check it and read it before handing it over,” Kristina says.

Unfortunately, the officer in question doesn’t read English, so The Economist never reaches Gottfrid, nor do any other magazines or newspapers.

When the news about Gottfrid’s prison circumstances got around a petition was started by the Free Anakata Campaign, asking the Danish Prime Minister to improve his conditions. Initially there were only a few hundred backers but last week this quickly grew to more than 50,000, and then quickly doubled to 100,000.

During her visit to the prison last Friday, Kristina mentioned the petition to the officer in charge, who said he would look into the book issue. This morning came confirmation that Gottfrid can have his books back.

“Gottfrid has access to his books now, with a maximum of ten at a time in his cell,” Kristina told TorrentFreak.

According to Gottfrid’s mother, the overwhelming support for the petition is one of the prime reasons why things changed so quickly. “The petition must have put a tremendous pressure on them,” Kristina says.

In addition to his own books, Gottfrid can also lend books and other reading material from the prison’s library. In addition, he is allowed to leave his cell for a few hours per week, and invite an inmate to socialize in his cell.

The prison even allowed the Pirate Bay founder to buy a games console, a request that was previously denied.

“Gottfrid is now allowed to have a PlayStation 2 in his cell. He has bought one from the prison service, but he is still waiting for his order of a memory card so he can save games, and a second-hand controller so he can play with fellow inmates,” Kristina says.

Gottfrid’s mother tells us that Gottfrid is holding up relatively well. She will continue to make the 1,320 kilometer round-trip to Denmark once a week for the one hour visitor time he has. All in all she is very happy with the positive developments, and grateful for the public support.

“Needless to say, the support for him from all around the world is inestimable. It helps a lot, I assure each and every one of you,” Kristina concludes.